


Not This Time

by Captain Natasha Riker-Troi (textsfrompicard)



Category: Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:42:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26683132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/textsfrompicard/pseuds/Captain%20Natasha%20Riker-Troi
Summary: When Deanna suffers a potentially life-threatening accident during an away mission, Will has to take care of little Thad by himself, and he has doubts about his ability to do the job alone. Inspired by the prompt 'caring for a child'.
Relationships: William Riker & Thaddeus "Thad" Troi-Riker, William Riker/Deanna Troi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28
Collections: Trektober 2020





	Not This Time

He knew it was a mistake not to go with her. Multiple times he insisted on accompanying the away team; indeed, he’d even considered overriding her authority and calling it a captain’s prerogative. But she’d chastised him about being overprotective (which was not unwarranted, and not without precedent), and reminded him that the captain’s place was on the bridge. She hadn’t said anything, but he knew she was aware of his greatest fear, something he had never dared to even give thought to, never mind voice: that not only would something happen to her, but that his subsequent efforts to raise a son by himself would be doomed to failure, like his own father’s before him.

And now she was missing, likely critically injured, possibly even dead, and here he was alone with his little boy, just as it had been before. History repeating itself with every cruel turn of the clock, father and son waiting in limbo to hear which way it would turn. Not knowing what would happen if it turned the wrong way, backwards to a widower who didn’t know the first thing about raising a child alone. Only this time his role would be reversed. He didn’t know if he could do this without Deanna. He didn’t want to have to find out. But it seemed as though he would soon not have a choice in the matter.

“Dada, where’s Mama?” came a plaintive, insistent voice from the vicinity of his knees. Will looked down from the paperwork he was pretending to work on to see his and Deanna’s two-year-old son, Thaddeus Troi-Riker, looking up at him with an adorably impatient scowl on his little face. Will scooped Thad up in his arms and propped him gently on one knee. “Your mama will be back soon, buddy,” he said halfheartedly, not completely believing it himself but also not willing to dismiss the possibility entirely. Thad seemed to sense that his father was not being sincere, and his lower lip began to tremble. “I want Mama!”

Will stroked the back of his son’s head soothingly. “I know, little buddy. She’ll be back before you know it.” He rose from his desk and walked Thad over to the window that overlooked the planet below. Due to the angle that Titan had taken in its parking orbit, the planet only occupied the lower third of the window, leaving most of their view only stars. He held Thad up to the window and began pointing out each star, as well as their names, their planets, and whether each was home to sentient life. His litany seemed to soothe Thad, and the child began repeating each of the names as Will spoke them, most of the time mispronouncing it so thoroughly that Will couldn’t help but chuckle, which of course led to Thad starting to giggle as well, and for a long, glorious moment, Will was able to almost forget the peril his _Imzadi_ currently faced.

Before long he ran out of stars to name, and he stood in front of the window in silence, holding little Thad in his arms. He was a fairly brawny man, and the juxtaposition inherent in the sight of his reflection holding an extremely diminutive child might have been a source of humor in happier times, but now it only served to remind him of events he would prefer to forget. He barely remembered his own mother; she had died when he was exactly Thad’s age. Everything he knew of her came from stories his father had told him-- stories he had told his friends at school, convincing himself in the telling that his mother wasn’t really dead, that she had only gone away for a short while and was coming back soon. Eventually his teacher and his father had to force him to face reality, and he lost his mother a second time.

His father had never really been emotionally available to him during his childhood. The thirteen years they lived together after Betty Riker’s death were characterized by silences that ranged from frosty to downright awkward. Eventually Kyle had left altogether, and fifteen years passed before they spoke again. They met a second time fourteen years after that, and they had seemingly been on the verge of a reconciliation when Kyle was brutally killed, taking unto himself the death that was meant for his son. Will had been left with a lifetime of regrets; words left unsaid that he should have spoken, and words he _had_ spoken but should have taken back. But now there was no time for any of that. No chance at reconciliation.

What would happen if Deanna never came back? Would his relationship with Thad go down the same road his and Kyle’s relationship had taken? Or could he turn the cycle around, and raise a son who could look at him, knowing he was loved by his father and loving him in turn, with no reservations, conditions, or regrets?

“Why Dada sad?” inquired his son. Will looked down to see Thad regarding him with an expression of concern. The boy reached up and patted his father’s beard. “Don’t be sad.”

Will felt a turbulent cocktail of emotions surge through his heart, and his eyes welled up with tears. He kissed his son’s forehead and wrapped his arms even more tightly around him as he said, “I won’t be sad forever, as long as I have you. I love you, son.”

Thad pressed his cheek against his father’s and snuggled in closer. “Love you too, Dada.”

The sudden, harsh trilling of Will’s combadge abruptly broke the tender moment. Will hastily answered the comm before the sound upset Thad. “Riker here.”

 _”Captain, we’ve found Commander Troi,”_ came the voice of his chief medical officer. _“She wasn’t too badly injured-- luckily the cave-in didn’t occur directly over the away team’s position, and they were trapped in a reasonably secure air pocket. She’s here in sickbay now if you want to--.”_

Riker was out the door as soon as he heard the word ‘sickbay’. “Thanks, Ree. Riker out!” He sprinted at full tilt down the corridor to the turbolift, Thad letting out a “Wheeeee!” as he was swept along for the ride. He danced impatiently in the lift until it opened on deck twelve, and he rushed out and down the hallway until he reached sickbay, barely waiting for the doors to open on his approach.

 _Imzadi!_ He embraced his wife as tightly as he could, giving no thought to her dirt- and blood-stained uniform. Their minds came together in a rush of pure joy and love. _I missed you._

“Mama, mama!” Thad babbled excitedly, eagerly wrapping his arms around his mother’s neck. Deanna pressed him tightly against her chest, simultaneously returning Will’s embrace. She rested her head in the space between his shoulder and his bearded chin as she gently kissed his neck. _I missed you too,_ Imzadi. _Did Thad behave himself while I was gone?_

 _He was an absolute angel. Just like his mother._ Will pressed his lips to Deanna’s forehead and smiled through happy tears. He still had a wife, and Thad still had a mother. For the time being, his family remained whole.


End file.
